Who are the Twirl Girls?

The Twirl Girls, (originally named Twirlin' Tigers) are a baton and flag troupe made of up 2nd through 8th grade girls who attend St. Teresa Catholic Grade School in Belleville.  I started the troupe in 2007 with less than 30 girls, and over the years our troupe has grown to more than 75 members. 

Girls in 2nd through 5th grades can participate in the baton section, and girls in 6th-8th grades are eligible to be a part of the flag line.  We practice once a week during the first semester of school, perform at Grizzlies Stadium, and march in the Howl 'O Ween Pet Parade, we also perform various service projects around the school and in the community.  PSOP (Programs and Services for Older Persons) used to be one of our favorite places to visit!

A Twirl Girl can join the troupe at end of 1st grade during Spring Training in February and continue with Camp in June.  Girls are eligible to begin performing with the troupe during their 2nd grade year.  

Who helps Ms. Barbie with the Twirl Girls?  

Miss Laurie: she helped with our first Twirl Camp in 2009, and has been there to keep the girls in check ever since.  (Miss Laurie and I twirled together in the 70s at St. Mary Grade School.)

Megan Peters: aka Cinderella.  Megan is my niece and comes with about 25 years of guard experience.  She helped found our flag line in 2013 and choreographs and teaches the flag routine to the girls at Camp every year.

Mrs. Tebbe: she came on board in 2021, utilizing her high school guard experience and lends a hand at Twirl Camp with the flag line.

~Ever wonder where all of your Camp fees (and donations) go?  

In the past years, Baton/Flag Summer Camp money has been spent as follows:

~snacks, napkins, M&M's,cds, name tags, markers, and any supplies needed for camp

~additional flags, poles and end caps for the troupe

~replacement end caps, new silk flags, and black duct tape for the troupe (about every three years)

~gifts/thank you dinner for Miss Laurie, Cinderella, and Mrs. Tebbe for helping with Camp every year

~new "birds" for our Roots and Wings Twirl painting in the hallway on the third floor by the elevator

~year end gifts for the 8th grade girls

~Vacation Bible School donations

~document stands for the computer lab

~brick Twirl paver for the playground

~scholarships for four Twirlers

~hats and sunglasses for Blues Brothers routine

~neon fishnet gloves for 80's routine

~bandannas for our Jitterbug routine

~hats for our Boy Bands routine

~wristbands for our Choose Joy routine

~supplies for decorations made for PSOP

~flowers for Libby Rittmeyer

~lighting for our AWESOME Nativity Set that Mr. Vosse made!

~donations to Project Compassion

~new white boards for Kindergarten classroom

~hosting Hot Chocolate Party 

~hosting Twirl Girls Auction Party

~new sound system-2021

~carpet rounds for our new Prayer Space

~St. Michael medals for the Fairview Heights Police Department

Black Eye  Bloody Nose  Belly Ache

The girls hear me say this all the time, and now we have t-shirts printed stating this to wear on Spirit Fridays!  You may wonder how this saying came about.  It all started more than 15 years ago when I began subbing. 

Each time something happened in the classroom that didn’t exactly follow protocol, one of the kids would let me know that, “You aren’t allowed to go to the bathroom during math”, or “There’s only one person allowed in the library at a time”, or “You can’t sharpen your pencil during reading”……

When each of these “horrors” occurred, I would ask the kids if what has just happened has given them a black eye (are they bruised somewhere), a bloody nose (are they bleeding from somewhere) or a belly ache (do they think they are going to throw up)? Of course, their answer was “No” each time.  So, it just became habit, when a student approached with “the tattle face”, I would simply repeat my mantra, they would shake their head, do an about face, and quickly return to their seat. 

 But throughout years, it has become more than that.  As the girls get older, and more and more drama enters their lives, this mantra has taken on an even more important role.  It’s not just about sharpening pencils, or bathroom breaks, or library time, it’s about getting along with each other, and not being envious of each other’s gifts and talents.  I try to remind the girls that when a troupemate perfects a Twirl move, or gets an A on a test, or is elected to Student Council, or asked to go to another girl’s house, NOTHING has been taken from them.  They haven’t suddenly lost the ability to twirl, no grade of theirs has been lowered, they haven’t lost a spot on a committee, nor have they been uninvited to a get together. 

So, as the girls mature, the mantra of Black Eye, Bloody Nose, Belly Ache takes on several different meanings.  What begins as tattling about pencil sharpening, can grow into allowing them to develop their own talents, while appreciating the gifts of those girls around them.